Night the Lights Went Out at Walmart
by Lady-Lannie-Queen-of-Goblins
Summary: A bored Goblin King visits his friend Lannie only to find himself with a part time job for the night.


**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Jareth (wish I did sometimes), Sarah, or any of the characters from Labyrinth. They belong to Jim Henson and those responsible for the making of the wonderful masterpiece that is Labyrinth. This was written for fun and I make no profit from it.

 **A/N:** You can thank Alastair (well my coworker that he's based on that is) for this. This all happened minus Jareth and goblins being there, but we really did work all night with little head lamps. My coworker made comment about imagine if Jareth was working with us in the dark and well this is what came of it.

Jareth the Goblin King was lounging on his throne, tapping his riding crop against his boot. Sighing, he looked around the empty room. He was bored and lonely. Sarah and the children were off visiting her family, and while he was invited to go with, he had decided to remain at the castle this time. He was beginning to regret that decision.

Summoning a crystal to his hand he looked in on his good friend Elena. Perhaps she was free. The moment she came into view he groaned. She was dressed in her work attire. He still wasn't used to her new work schedule. She had switched to the night shift so she could attend school during the day. He was happy she was back in school and getting her degree, but her new schedule made it hard to spend time with her.

Making up his mind, he stood and changed into his owl form and headed for the Aboveground. Elena may be working, but he could always pop in and bug her for a bit and spend her breaks and lunch with her. Plus maybe he could find a gift or two for Sarah and the kids while he was there.

~*~*~/.../~*~*~

Elena had just clocked in and was just starting to set the modular for a section in pets. She was dreading the night. At their nightly meeting they were informed the store was closing at 11 and the store was having a scheduled power outage while the power company did some maintenance on the lines. It was good in the fact that there would be no customers which also meant she wouldn't have to go run the register either. It was bad because they had to work in the dark with only little headlamps to see by. She was dreading the headache she was sure to have by the end of the night.

She decided to simply focus on her work and hope the night went by quickly. As she cleared and dusted the shelves, she didn't notice the figure that was suddenly standing beside her, at least not enough to realize who it was. When she turned her back to him to place items in a cart, he stepped behind her and covered her eyes. Even though he didn't say a word, Elena knew instantly who it was. Who else would be wearing gloves in the summer, in Florida? "Jareth what are you doing here?"

"And hello to you too." He stated as he uncovered her eyes and stepped around to stand by the cart. "Not even happy to see me?"

Sighing, she shook her head. "Its not that I'm not happy to see you, its just that its going to be a long night. I have a lot of work to do and the power will be turned off soon."

Before he could reply a voice came over the speaker. "Attention customers, the store will be closing in 10 minutes. Please make your way to the front of the store at this time and make your final purchases. Again the store will be closing in 10 minutes. Please make your way to the front of the store at this time."

"I thought your place of employment stayed open all the time?" Jareth inquired.

"Normally, but the power company needs to work on the lines behind the store so we're loosing power tonight. Can't have customers in here when we have no lights." Elena explained.

"So when you loose power you get to go home correct?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

"Afraid not." She told him. "I get to work with this." She held up the tiny headlamp they had given her.

"Surely you jest."

"Nope. So if you were planning to join me for breaks and lunch you'll have to wait outside and entertain yourself." Elena said as she went back to cleaning the shelf.

"Absurd. I will not wait outside while you stumble around here in the dark. I will remain by your side and provide you with better lighting than that tiny bulb they expect you to wear on your head." Jareth told her as he leaned against the wall.

"And how do you intend to do that?" Elena asked. "Only people in these oh so wonderful vest with the bright yellow targets on our backs are allowed in here after they close the doors." Her voice was filled with sarcasm. She hated the vest they made her wear and always referred to the new walmart logo as a target.

"Lannie you forget who your best friend is. No one will question my being here." Jareth replied with a smirk.

"If you're planning on the no one but me can see you trick, don't. I can't be on my phone so I have no reason to give for me talking to someone that isn't here."

"That wasn't my plan at all." He stated as he juggled a crystal.

"Oh no, I'm not cleaning up your glitter. You do that in the bathroom. Let maintenance clean up your mess." Elena said firmly.

"Very well." He sighed as he pushed off the wall. "I shall be back in a moment." He went to the restroom to work whatever magic he was planning.

Shaking her head, Elena continued her work and tried not to think about what he might be up to this time. After cleaning and setting the first section she was working in, she noticed that Jareth hadn't returned. The store was now closed and management had run all the customers out. She looked around but there was no sign of the Goblin King or anyone else for that matter. She wasn't surprised not to see any of her coworkers as they had a skeleton crew that night and they all were on grocery side taking care of the cold things so they wouldn't go bad when the power was shut off. "Jareth?" She glanced down the aisles but there was no sign of the Goblin King.

Shrugging, she started the next section, figuring that he left and would be back for her lunch hour. She kept working and forgot about his promise/threat to stay by her side that night. An hour later the power was shut off. Elena turned on her tiny headlamp and sighed. "I could see better with out this damn thing. All its doing is making a glare on the plastic."

"Is this better?" Suddenly the aisle was filled with bright light.

Turning, she was blinded by a giant flood light. Covering her eyes, she squinted and tried to see behind the light. "Jareth?"

"Who else would bring you better lightning." He asked.

"Where did you get that?" Elena questioned.

Jareth sighed. "When will you realize your best friend has magic?"

"Okay fine, you're magical and I really appreciate you. Now how did you intend to not be kicked out? Management will come by to check on me at some point."

"That's the easy part." Jareth stepped in front of the light and all she saw was a shadow. When he moved to stand beside her, she got a clear veiw of how he looked and nearly fell on the floor laughing. "Lannie I fail to see how this is amusing." He stated as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The more she tried to calm her laughing, the harder she wound up laughing at him. She doubled over holding her stomach as it began to hurt from laughing so hard. "I can't... I can't breathe." She had tears in her eyes.

"Well stop laughing and you'll be able to breathe." He stated as he glared at her. "Is my appearance really that humorous?"

She glanced up and nodded. "Yes!" She continued to laugh. It was the funniest thing she had seen in a long time, Jareth the Goblin King in tan pants, that were still way too tight, a blue long sleeved shirt, his hair was shorter, but still blonde and wild, his Fae markings were gone, but the funniest part was the vest with Proud Walmart Associate on the side and a fake badge with the name Jaye.

"What is so funny about my appearance?" He demanded.

"You, the mighty Goblin King," she sat on the floor before she fell on it, "dressed like a walmart worker." She held her stomach, still chuckling. "Oh god I'm going to pee." She jumped up and ran to relieve herself. She was so concerned with making it to the bathroom in time she didn't even notice her tiny head lamp now lit the way 1000 times better.

Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "I really don't think this is that funny."

A few minutes later, Elena returned and before he knew what she was doing, she snapped a photo. "Now I have evidence that this really happened." She chuckled.

Sighing he leaned against the wall. "If I knew you'd find this that amusing I would have done it a long time ago."

Elena continued to chuckle for a while, more so when she looked at him, as she went back to work. "So are you just going to stand here all night?"

"Not enjoying my company?" He asked. He feared she was going to ask him to leave. It wouldn't be the first time. She told him he often made it difficult for her to focus and get work done. He couldn't imagine why that might be though.

"Well I just have a lot to get done. I don't mind you being here and talking to me and keeping me company." She picked up a box. "So why don't you help me out since you're a walmart worker tonight." She said as she tossed the box at him.

"What?" He caught the box and looked at her like a deer in headlights.

"You heard me. Open the boxes and put the merchandise on the shelves." She ordered.

He raised and eyebrow and tilted his head. "Are you ordering me around?"

"Yes." Elena replied with smile. "You're not in your realm nor are you a King right now. You're a walmart worker and since its your first night that means I'm your boss for the night. Now take this." She handed him her box cutter. "Open the boxes on that cart and put them in the correct location while I set the next section."

"And just how do you intend for me to know where they go, boss?" He asked with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Easy, you read the UPC." She opened the box and showed him the number under the bar code. "Match it to the numbers on the label." She showed him where to find the correct number on the shelf label and explained that the item description may help him find it faster. Reluctantly, the Goblin King did as his new boss asked. He quickly got the hang of it and was making quick work of the cart.

As they worked they chatted quietly. Elena told him of her classes and how things were going at work. He told her about the children. He was especially proud of little Suele, who was already starting to walk. With Jareth's help, Elena had the modular set and filled in no time. Just as they were cleaning up the trash, the night manager came over to check on them. "How's it going over here?" He asked.

Elena was surprised he didn't ask about her partner, especially since this was the manager that told her she'd be alone setting the modular. "Just finished this one." She informed him. "Taking the trash to the back and then starting on the next one."

"Good, good. How is Jaye doing? I hope you don't mind training the new guy." Her manager asked.

She glanced at Jareth and shook her head. He had worked his magic and convinced management he was a new associate. "He's been a big help. I think he'll be a good addition to the team." She stated with a smirk. Jareth glared at her as if to say don't expect this to happen again.

"Great. We'll I'll let you two get back to work." The manager said before walking away.

Elena shook her head. "I don't even want to know what you said or did to put him in such a good mood. He's usually a jerk."

"I simply used my charm and told him I had just started today. He said I was supposed to do something called CDLs or something like that, but wouldn't be able to as the power would be off. So I mentioned that I saw a lovely young girl working all alone over here and that with the power being shut off I felt you needed someone with you to make sure nothing happened to you. He agreed and I return to your side as I promised." Jareth explained with a grin.

Chuckling, Elena started pushing the cart of cardboard to the back. "He'll be expecting to see you tomorrow night."

"He'll be greatly disappointed I'm afraid." Jareth said as he followed her to the back room.

Right before they reached the large doorway that lead to receiving, there was a loud crash followed by giggling. Elena looked at Jareth. "You didn't bring the goblins with you did you?"

"Not intentionally." He answered as they hurried to the back room.

They hurried into receiving, which was completely pitch black. The closer they got to the bay doors, the louder the giggling got. Jareth summoned a crystal and soon it illuminated the entire room. Elena gasped when she saw goblins everywhere and pallets of freight knocked over and boxes thrown from there spots in the bins. "Oh my gosh! Look at this mess!"

The goblins froze when they heard Elena shout. "Uh oh!" one of the goblins cried.

"What are you miscreants doing?" Jareth's voice boomed. Elena was surprised to see he was now his usual intimidating Goblin King self, complete with goblin armor.

The goblins screamed and tried to scatter. "Kingy!"

"Stop!" Jareth ordered and they all stopped in their tracks. "Now what are all of you doing here and how did this place become such a mess?"

"We plays hides and seeks Kingy." One of the goblins answered.

"Harder to finds when its dark." Another added.

Jareth sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why are you here?"

"We sees you fly aways and thoughts you might be coming to see Lady Lannie." A third goblin said.

"Lady Lannie makes yummy treats."

"Sweets! Sweets!" They all chanted.

"Enough!" Jareth looked around at his subjects. "Now you've made quick a mess of our Lannie's work area. You all had better clean it up and do it fast and then return to the castle. If you do this and if our friend is happy with your work, perhaps there will be some treats for you later."

"Yay!" they all cried before they started cleaning their mess. Jareth watched as they picked up all the boxes and re-stacked the pallets. Elena directed them on what boxes were supposed to go together based on their departments. She heard rattling glass from several boxes and knew they were probably completely broken, but someone else would have to deal with it. She didn't want to have goblin blood everywhere because they cut themselves.

Soon the room looked normal again and the goblins all disappeared. "Well that was almost a disaster." Elena said shaking her head.

"I apologize Lannie. If I had known they would follow me I wouldn't have come to see you." Jareth said sincerely.

"Its alright. They cleaned up their mess." She responded. "Now we should get back to work."

Jareth nodded and they disposed of the trash and returned to the sales floor to work on the next modular. By lunch time Jareth was starving. He had worked up quite an appetite. They went outside to Elena's car and Jareth summoned a large amount of food for them to share. As they were going back inside after the hour was up, they passed Elena's coworker Roy. He was with several others that were also heading back inside. "Hey Lannie where ya been? I thought you called out on us."

"I've been in pets setting the modulars." She answered.

"Who's the new guy?" One of her coworkers asked.

"This is Jaye. He just started tonight." Elena said.

"Picked a heck of a night to start." Roy said chucking. "That's the night that the lights went out at walmart." He sang to the tune of The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia. "That's the night they made us work in the dark."

The group laughed at him and then separated as they headed back to their work areas. "Who was that?" Jareth asked. "The one that was singing."

"Oh that was Roy." Elena replied.

"Hmmm." Jareth rubbed his chin.

"What?"

"For some reason he reminds me of my cousin." He shook his head. "Oh well it was probably just a coincidence. What are we doing now?"

"Same as before but in a different aisle." She replied as they returned to pets.

The rest of the night went fairly smoothly. No more goblins making messes and the two made a pretty good team so all the modulars were done and even had time to do one that wasn't planned for that night. By the time it was time to go home the lights were still out. Elena told Jareth that wasn't a surprise. Usually a simple one hour outage turned into four or five hours and this was supposed to be a 5 hour outage. Jareth rode home with his friend and made sure she made it their safely before he said good bye and return to the castle.

~*~*~/.../~*~*~

Jareth arrived home, tired and worn out. He had forgotten how hard manual labor could be. Elena had insisted that he refrain from using magic, so he kept the magic use to a minimal. After a long soak in the bath, he climbed into bed to get some sleep. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, the bedroom door opened and an excited 4 year old ran in. "Daddy! Daddy!"

Jareth barely had time to sit up before Tara jumped on the bed. Smiling he picked her up and sat her on his lap. "Well, well look who's home." Jareth said as he watched Sarah walk in carrying Seule.

"And look who's still in bed." Sarah smiled.

"Still?" Jareth laughed. "I just laid down a moment ago."

"And just what were you doing all night?" Sarah asked as she sat on the bed and let Seule crawl over to his father.

Jareth scooped up the boy and sat with a child on each knee. "If you must know I started a part time job last night."

Sarah laughed. "A part time job? Oh Jareth, you goofball. Now what were you really doing?"

Jareth smirked. "Working at walmart."

Shaking her head, Sarah leaned over and kissed him. "Sure and and your brother is going to follow your lead an marry a human too, or better yet your mother will forget her hatred of humans." She chuckled. "If you don't want to tell me that's fine. I'll leave the children with the nanny and let you rest while I attend to the Kingdom." She kissed him again and took Seule from him and chased Tara out of the room, leaving the King to get some rest.

Jareth stared at the ceiling and laughed. "I guess I'll have to have Lannie give me a copy of that picture she took or Sarah will never believe me. My bother marry a human and mother like humans?" He shook his head. "I guess me working at walmart really is a hard thing to imagine." He closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.


End file.
